European clinical guidelines for Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. Part II: pharmacological treatment

To develop a European guideline on pharmacologic treatment of Tourette syndrome (TS) the available literature was thoroughly screened and extensively discussed by a working group of the European Society for the Study of Tourette syndrome (ESSTS). Although there are many more studies on pharmacotherapy of TS than on behavioral treatment options, only a limited number of studies meets rigorous quality criteria. Therefore, we have devised a two-stage approach. First, we present the highest level of evidence by reporting the findings of existing Cochrane reviews in this field. Subsequently, we provide the first comprehensive overview of all reports on pharmacological treatment options for TS through a MEDLINE, PubMed, and EMBASE search for all studies that document the effect of pharmacological treatment of TS and other tic disorders between 1970 and November 2010. We present a summary of the current consensus on pharmacological treatment options for TS in Europe to guide the clinician in daily practice. This summary is, however, rather a status quo of a clinically helpful but merely low evidence guideline, mainly driven by expert experience and opinion, since rigorous experimental studies are scarce

The Selection Element in Whole Grain Feeding Regimes

Seven dietary treatments consisting of a ground grain control and six treatments with pre- and post-pellet whole grain inclusions of 7.5, 15.0 and 30.0% were offered to a total of 252 male Ross 308 broiler chicks from 7 to 28 days post-hatch. With the post-pellet approach, whole grain and pelleted concentrate were offered in separate feed trays to give birds an unhindered opportunity to select between the two ration components. The 30% post-pellet whole grain treatment generated the most efficient feed conversion of 1.260 which represented an improvement of 7.01% (1.260 versus 1.365

Decadal Oscillation of Autumn Precipitation in Central Vietnam Modulated by the East Pacific-North Pacific (EP-NP)

Autumn precipitation over Central Vietnam is associated with an increase in the occurrence of tropical cyclones that lead to frequent flooding and pose a significant threat to lives and property. The present analyses reveal a pronounced decadal oscillation of autumn precipitation in Central Vietnam within the 8-11 year frequency band that is modulated by the East Pacific-North Pacific (EP-NP) teleconnection. The negative phase of the EP-NP pattern is associated with a positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomaly in the South China Sea (SCS) that induces low-level convergence, enhances convection, and increases precipitation over Central Vietnam and adjacent islands including Hainan (China) and the Philippines. This circulation feature around the SCS is embedded in a large-scale circulation associated with SST anomalies across the Pacific Ocean-i.e., cooling in the Eastern and Central tropical Pacific sandwiched by warming in the North and South Pacific as well as the Western Pacific Ocean. The positive phase of the EP-NP features opposite SST and circulation anomalies, with the result being reduced rainfall in Central Vietnam. This out-of-phase relationship and shared decadal spectral coherence between the EP-NP index and autumn precipitation in Central Vietnam might be useful for future climate predictions and flood management

Nuovi sguardi sul vino: linguaggio e personalità

Una serie di lavori condotti dal nostro gruppo di ricerca negli ultimi 5 anni ha centrato l’analisi del rapporto tra consumatore non-esperto e vino, da due punti di vista. Il primo riguarda la comprensione (o non comprensione), da parte di consumatori non esperti, di 64 termini frequentemente usati in guide vino e disciplinari di produzione per descrivere le proprietà sensoriali dei diversi tipi di vino.: I consumatori capiscono a cosa i termini si riferiscono? Sono concordi nell’attribuire ai termini uno stesso significato? Come varia la risposta a queste domande se si considerano tre campioni di soggetti con una “cultura” del vino molto diversa (iItaliani, vietnamiti, australiani)? E pPoi: che distanza c’è tra il significato più frequentemente attribuito dai non esperti e quello che gli esperti danno agli stessi termini? In caso di forte discordanza, si può pensare ad un nuovo lessico “condiviso”? (compreso cioè in maniera simile da esperti e non esperti?) Il secondo punto di vista riguarda la possibilità di individuare una associazione tra tratti di personalità del consumatore e caratteristiche sensoriali che egli cerca nei vini. C’è una associazione robusta? Risente di variabili quali genere, età, expertise? L’intento è anche quello di pensare ad un algoritmo per suggerimenti di l’acquisto che proponga una selezione di vini sulla base della personalità del consumatore: un nuovo modo di “customizzare” la proposta del prodotto sui tratti del cliente. Racconteremo una sintesi dei metodi utilizzati per rispondere a queste domande e dei risultati emersi

Combined application of behavior genetics and microarray analysis to identify regional expression themes and gene-behavior associations

In this report we link candidate genes to complex behavioral phenotypes by using a behavior genetics approach. Gene expression signatures were generated for the prefrontal cortex, ventral striatum, temporal lobe, periaqueductal gray, and cerebellum in eight inbred strains from priority group A of the Mouse Phenome Project. Bioinformatic analysis of regionally enriched genes that were conserved across all strains revealed both functional and structural specialization of particular brain regions. For example, genes encoding proteins with demonstrated anti-apoptotic function were over-represented in the cerebellum, whereas genes coding for proteins associated with learning and memory were enriched in the ventral striatum, as defined by the Expression Analysis Systematic Explorer (EASE) application. Association of regional gene expression with behavioral phenotypes was exploited to identify candidate behavioral genes. Phenotypes that were investigated included anxiety, drug-naive and ethanol-induced distance traveled across a grid floor, and seizure susceptibility. Several genes within the glutamatergic signaling pathway (i.e., NMDA/glutamate receptor subunit 2C, calmodulin, solute carrier family 1 member 2, and glutamine synthetase) were identified in a phenotype-dependent and region-specific manner. In addition to supporting evidence in the literature, many of the genes that were identified could be mapped in silico to surrogate behavior-related quantitative trait loci. The approaches and data set described herein serve as a valuable resource to investigate the genetic underpinning of complex behaviors. Copyright © 2006 Society for Neuroscience

Identification of candidate genes and gene networks specifically associated with analgesic tolerance to morphine

Chronic morphine administration may alter the expression of hundreds to thousands of genes. However, only a subset of these genes is likely involved in analgesic tolerance. In this report, we used a behavior genetics strategy to identify candidate genes specifically linked to the development of morphine tolerance. Two inbred genotypes [C57BL/6J (B6), DBA2/J (D2)] and two reciprocal congenic genotypes (B6D2, D2B6) with the proximal region of chromosome 10 (Chr10) introgressed into opposing backgrounds served as the behavior genetic filter. Tolerance after therapeutically relevant doses of morphine developed most rapidly in the B6 followed by the B6D2 genotype and did not develop in the D2 mice and only slightly in the D2B6 animals indicating a strong influence of the proximal region of Chrl0 in the development of tolerance. Gene expression profiling and pattern matching identified 64,53,86, and 123 predisposition genes and 81, 96,106, and 82 tolerance genes in the periaqueductal gray (PAG), prefrontal cortex, temporal lobe, and ventral striatum, respectively. A potential gene network was identified in the PAG in which 19 of the 34 genes were strongly associated with tolerance. Eleven of the network genes were found to reside in quantitative trait loci previously associated with morphine-related behaviors, whereas seven were predictive of tolerance (morphine-naive condition). Overall, the genes modified by chronic morphine administration show a strong presence in canonical pathways representative of neuroadaptation. A potentially significant role for the micro-RNA and epigenetic mechanisms in response to chronic administration of pharmacologically relevant doses of morphine was highlighted by candidate genes Dicer and H19. Copyright © 2009 Society for Neuroscience